Ezra Claytan Daniels – “A Circuit Closed”

Announcements, Comics,
9/10/07

A panel from Ezra Claytan Daniels' 'A Circuit Closed'

A panel from Ezra Claytan Daniels’ “A Circuit Closed.”

I’ve been wanting to experiment with comics and illustration in my work for a while now, and this year I’ve finally gotten the chance. As part of a forthcoming collaboration with scholar Caren Kaplan, author of the Dead Reckoning project in the current issue of Vectors, I’ve had the opportunity to work with up-and-coming comics artist Ezra Claytan Daniels.  Ezra dropped me a line a few years ago while I was in production on Chroma and shared some of his work, including a two-book piece called The Changers that really impressed me.

When it became clear that Caren’s project would be well served by the work of a comic artist, Ezra was the first person I contacted, and luckily he agreed to do the project. I’m very excited to share the results, hopefully within the next couple of months. In the meantime, Ezra’s just had a comic published as part of the MySpace Dark Horse Presents anthology series. It’s called “A Circuit Closed”—a haunting tale that’s worth your time. While you’re there, post a comment and show your support! ‘Nuff said.

 

TENORI-ON is happy-making

Animation, Exemplary Work, Interactive Design, Music,
9/5/07

Toshio Iwai, interactive media artist and creator of Electroplankton, gave a solo performance of his new instrument, the TENORI-ON, last night at a launch event in London. Composer Gary Kibler was there and posted a number of videos of the event. Check out the clip below—there’s a very specific joy about this device that occurs when he creates a loop and then hides it to begin work on another layer. Creating a tangible rhythm out of light, and then hiding the light while the rhythm persists… it immediately engages the maker instinct. The promise is one of building music with smart light, light that’s better than light because it remembers and holds its state in secret while you go to work on another facet of the composition. Great concept, can’t wait to see where it goes.

Source: Create Digital Music

Update: Further reflections on the device from Gary Kibler: Hands On Tenori-On: Close Encounters of the Interactive Music Kind